Fantasy Football Trade Outlook: David Johnson, Odell Beckham Jr. and Other Buy Low, Sell High Candidates for Week 3

When it comes to fantasy football, the only thing worse than seeing one of your top picks get injured is seeing one of your picks underperform. At least with injuries it is just bad luck, with  the latter your GM skills come into question, especially if that player is a top pick.

We’re two weeks into the season, so let’s take a look at some of the big names and whether or not you should be buying (or selling) them.

Sell:

David Johnson:

Johnson was a consensus top-five pick, so this one will hurt the most. Unfortunately for David, things are not looking good. He is on one of the worst teams in the league, and to make matters worse, behind one of the worst offensive lines. That’s a double whammy. Johnson’s only touchdown this season came in garbage time during a week 1 blowout. Johnson has a pedestrian 22 caries through two weeks and his schedule only gets tougher. The Cardinals will be underdogs in their next five games and most likely will be in catch-up mode in the majority of those. With Johnson not involved in the passing game (Coach Wilks said this week they will try to get him more involved), things are looking bleak for this fantasy superstar. I would sell the illusion of a resurgence to another fellow owner and hope that he bites, if someone is willing to pay for a Top 8 Running Back.

Carlos Hyde:

Even though Hyde has rushed a whopping 38 times through two games, he is only averaging 2.8 YPC. And, despite two touchdowns, he has also only been on the field for ~53% of Cleveland’s offensive plays. Hyde will never be involved in the pass-catching game with Duke Johnson there, which hurts as the Browns will be down in a lot of games and need to pass. Couple that with the fact that he is not playing a lot of snaps and his low YPC, now is the time to sell Hyde. Upsell his 2 touchdowns when negotiating with GMs.

Kyle Rudolph:

Rudolph’s numbers are currently inflated from last weekend. Rudolph had 8 targets in last week’s shootout vs. the Packers, but in week 1, while he did catch a touchdown, he only had 1 catch on 2 targets. Cousins is slinging it in Minnesota, but there are just too many mouths to feed. And, because of that, Rudolph is at best, the 3rd or 4th option in that offense. Trade him now while he still has some value after last week’s seven reception performance.

DeSean Jackson:

Fitzmagic is putting on a show in Tampa Bay, and Jackson has been the biggest beneficiary of Fitzpatrick’s “magic”, catching all nine balls that have been thrown at him for an NFL-high 275 yards and three touchdowns. Fitzpatrick and Jackson are connecting on a ton of deep balls as D-Jax is averaging 30.6 yards per catch, but that won’t last. It can’t, because defenses will adjust. We also don’t know if Jameis Winston is coming back to start. If he does, who knows if he’ll have the same chemistry that Fitz and Jackson currently have. Chris Godwin’s snaps are also increasing, and O.J. Howard is the real deal, so Tampa Bay’s targets will be spread out as well. Jackson currently sits as a top-five fantasy WR (third in PPR), sell him now.

Buy:

Antonio Brown:

Fantasy owners that picked AB in the first-round can’t be happy right now with him sitting outside the top-10 in PPR formats. JuJu Smith-Schuster is also going off, which can’t make Brown owners very joyful either. And, those same owners are probably shook right now because of AB’s tweet and him missing practice earlier this week:

But, if you dig inside the numbers, there is nothing to worry about. Brown has 18 receptions for 160 yards and a TD, but most importantly, AB leads the entire league in team targets (33%). He is also second in end-zone targets with 4. The Steelers will be in a ton of shootouts all-season long with that defense. Find a panicked AB owner, and make an offer for him asap.

Marvin Jones Jr.:

I’ll keep it simple. Stafford and the Lions have a pass-happy offense paired with a not-so-good defense. That means they will start scoring some touchdowns soon. Jones leads the NFL in end-zone targets with 6, so he will be the biggest beneficiary of that oncoming scoring outburst:

Jones finished last season as a top-10 WR in PPR formats, and is a huge positive regression candidate. You can probably get him for dirt cheap. Trading for him can be one of those under the radar moves that pay off come playoff time.

Odell Beckham Jr.:

No Saquon Barkley isn’t taking all of OBJ’s work. Odell still has been targeted 24 times (30%), and is on pace for an insane 192 targets. The touchdowns are coming. The Giants are still getting used to their new coach, offense, and shiny new toy in stud rookie Barkley. But having said that, Beckham makes this offense go, and they are going to score touchdowns. Buy him now before he explodes in week 3 against a Texans pass defense that has a lot of holes.